10 great transgender films

Transamerica (2005)

Director Duncan Tucker

Unlike Wild Side, Duncan Tucker’s film did not employ a trans woman as its protagonist. It featured Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman as transsexual Bree, who goes on a road trip after getting a call from her previously unknown son Toby, 17, jailed in New York.

Although it is very much Huffman’s movie, plenty of trans people feature – Transamerica begins with a recording of writer and activist Andrea James providing voice training for trans women, with several scenes showing Bree attempting to integrate with trans communities, a challenge rarely before shown on screen. The script – on which James was a consultant – displays impressive awareness of the issues that trans people face and the language they use, especially with Felicity struggling to live in ‘stealth’ by not revealing her gender history. It’s sometimes ridiculous and occasionally uses Bree’s body for shocks or laughs, but it’s also often touching, and crucially, never allows her to become a victim.